Raven's Redemption
by firestorm2
Summary: Van gets ejected from a zoid battle by the Blade Liger, and crashes into the cockpit of the Genobreaker. Please R+R!!


Van dodged to the right as the zoid in front of him fired a bullet. The zoid was catlike, with folded wings. He had been dispatched to this remote area to investigate reports of bandits. The rogue zoid suddenly leaped into the air, fanned the wings open, and plummeted. Van didn't have time to dodge before the cat zoid pushed the Blade Liger to the ground, paralyzing the system. The words "Combat System Frozen" blinked incessantly from the screen. He hadn't brought Zeke with him; this was supposed to be a minor mission.  
  
The pilot of the zoid said the only words he had said the whole battle. "Fool, to challenge the power of the Storm Tiger." Locks dropped from the Storm Tiger's feet as it bent over. The unmistakable glow of a Charged Particle Cannon grew from his mouth. Van watched helplessly as the beam shot forward. Suddenly, the Blade Liger ejected him from the cockpit; he tumbled through the air, screaming. He fell onto a hard surface and plunged into a darkness from which he emerged very gradually...  
  
Van groaned in pain as his eyes opened. The warm glow of a fire was in the corner, lighting the room. He was in a cave, and rain was pouring down outside the mouth. A black figure appeared in the entrance, hooded and cloaked. The person was carrying wood. His benefactor carried it to the fire, dropping it with a thump on the stone floor.  
  
Van stared and said, "Thanks for the help. Who are you?" His unknown friend pushed his hood back. Shaggy gray hair and keen amethyst eyes gave him his answer. "Raven?!" The Dark One exhaled noisily. "Yeah. Don't try and move."  
  
Van tried gingerly to move his leg and gasped in pain. "I told you." Raven sat down, leaning against the wall. "What happened to me?!" Van questioned. Raven stretched his long legs toward the fire and heaved a sigh. "Both legs are broken, one arm is sprained, your right shoulder is dislocated, and you have various bruises and scrapes. What do you expect when you come crashing through the roof of the Genobreaker, totaling the cockpit?"  
  
Van winced with each addition. Raven stood up again. "It'll take at least twelve weeks for you to heal, and around ten weeks for the Genobreaker to repair itself. Don't move, I'm going to get some food from the Genobreaker. Shadow should be finished with the cooking by now."  
  
"Raven, wait!" The Dark One was already gone. Van lifted up the blanket and gaped at the damage. His legs were wrapped in bandages, and they throbbed incessantly. His tattered uniform was in a corner; Raven must have given him some clothes.  
  
Raven walked in, Shadow following. The organoid was carrying a tray; Raven was holding a bag and carrying a string of cooked fish over his shoulder. "Fried bass, painkillers for you, coffee, and more painkillers." Raven informed him before setting the bag down and rummaging through it, coming up with several pills.  
  
Raven propped Van against a wall, set a tray of food in front of him, and watched him like a hawk, to make sure he ate it all. "Eat it. If you don't get better, I won't be able to defeat you." Van grunted reply as he inhaled the fish.  
  
Shadow lay down in the corner, snorting commentary. "Yeah, Shadow, he should have been named Vacuum. No matter, how is the Genobreaker?" Shadow growled as Raven listened carefully. "Good." He picked up the tray and put it in the corner. "Get some sleep, Flyheight." Raven leaned back against Shadow and closed his eyes.  
  
Van watched him. 'He looks so... innocent when he's sleeping. What happened to make him the Dark One?' he mused before laying back down and slipping into sleep.  
  
Fiona was silent, as she ran across the desert in a borrowed Command Wolf, Thomas and Irvine beside her. They leaped over a sand dune and gasped. The tattered, burnt hulk of the Blade Liger lay there, smoking. The zoid core was intact, so it wasn't dying, but it would need a complete overhaul.  
  
Fiona ran to the shattered cockpit. She sank to the ground, her face in her hands. Van wasn't there. But no one could have escaped the explosion, so Van was dead. Thomas laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Miss Fiona." She looked up. Irvine and Thomas had tears in their eyes as they surveyed the wreck.  
  
Thomas crawled into the Dibison and radioed his brother. "Karl?" The Colonel looked at him and asked, "Did you find Van?" Thomas broke down and started sobbing. "Karl... he's dead! He's gone!" The Colonel's face was blank for a second, the reality sinking in.  
  
Van Flyheight, defeater of the Deathsaurer and Deathstinger, was dead. Dead. Never coming back. "And the Blade Liger?" he choked out. "Intact. The body's dying." Thomas sniffled. "Come back. Bring the... Blade Liger."  
  
Van sat up and complained. "I wanna go outside!" Raven looked at him and continued repairing some circuitry. Van kept on complaining, until Raven blew out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, Flyheight."  
  
Raven stooped down, put one arm behind his back and the other under his legs, and lifted. Van was carried out, where he was plunked down on top of a rock. "Happy, Flyheight?" Without waiting for an answer, the Dark One turned and disappeared inside the cave.  
  
Van smiled as he looked at the view. The gleaming red Genobreaker was in a stand of trees, Shadow was repairing it by holding tools in his mouth, and the village was below him. Raven sat down on the cliff, recrossing wires and changing voltages. Van's head hurt when he looked at all this complex work.  
  
"So, Flyheight, what zoid managed to send you flying three and a half miles?" Van answered, "Something called a Storm Tiger." Raven looked sharply at him before handing the circuit to Shadow.  
  
"Storm Tiger?" "Yeah." "Figures." Raven muttered. "You know what it is?" Raven sighed. "It's a spinoff of the Deathsaurer Project, much like the Genosaurer. They were building it as a backup zoid for me. Let's just say that if I were the one piloting it, it would have been easy for me to defeat you, Thomas, and Irvine. It was stolen a couple weeks before I got the Genosaurer. The pilot's my foster sister, Fenris."  
  
The planet of Zi had decided to have a mourning period of ten weeks for the great hero, before the funeral. Fiona sat in the hangar beside the dying body of the Blade Liger. The core had been removed, to be transplanted in a new body. "You've saved me so many times, and I can't do a thing to help you!" The Blade Liger growled softly, (I forgive you.) She looked at the great blue beast, and finally let the tears fall.  
  
7 WEEKS LATER....  
  
Van had established a comfortable schedule. He would wake up at eight, bug Raven for two hours until the harassed Dark One would carry him outside, stay there until three, when Raven would sit there and let him help with the repairs of the Genobreaker, until he was carried inside, fed, and would go to sleep.  
  
Van sat on the edge of the cliff, watching Raven concentrate on repairing a small gash in the smooth metal armor of Shadow. "So, Raven, what are you doing out here in this remote area?" The Dark One replied without looking up.  
  
"Hiding from Reese, hiding from civilization and people who might want revenge on me, and waiting." Van laughed at the memory of Reese's crush on Raven. "Waiting for what?" Raven finished the repair and let Shadow up. "For the Genobreaker to evolve."  
  
Van choked before asking, "What will this new form be like?" Raven sighed and began describing it. "It's called the Berserk Fury. It's white, has blades, and three charged particle cannons. The blades are very mobile, and can go in any direction. The main weakness of the Genobreaker has been eliminated; there's no time limit. Rest assured that when you're finished healing I'll challenge you and your friends to a rematch." Van laughed, Raven was still hell-bent on defeating him.  
  
"Plus, it doesn't need footlocks. And I've studied the capabilities of the Blade Liger, Lightning Siax, and Dibison to an extent where I can predict your moves before you start them." Van looked down at the stiff sticks of his legs. "Man, you've improved. So when can we return to my friends?"  
  
Raven looked up at the stars and said thoughtfully, "In three weeks, the Genobreaker will have evolved by then, your legs will have healed to an extent that you can tolerate travel, and hopefully the new form will have two seats. I don't relish the idea of you sitting on my lap for three hundred miles."  
  
Suddenly the Genobreaker roared as a white light shot up from the ground, surrounding it in what looked like a shield. Shadow quickly merged and began the transformation. Raven laughed as he looked at it.  
  
It had been finally been three weeks. Suddenly, the cocoon whined and sucked into the ground. The zoid stood in the middle. Pure white, with red eyes, it was beautiful, deadly, and dangerous. Raven grinned broadly as he stood up. Van clamored behind him as he started walking over to it. Raven pivoted with a exasperated look on his face. He picked him up and carried him to the zoid.  
  
Raven climbed into the cockpit and cursed. "Flyheight, it only has one seat! Look, I'll merge with Shadow, he'll merge with the Berserk Fury, and we'll control it. Okay?" Van nodded as Raven lifted him easily, plunking him down into the seat.  
  
Shadow opened his chest cavity, sucking Raven inside in a whirlwind of wires. Shadow opened his wings and leaped into the air, flashing downward into the Fury. Boosters opened up and the Fury roared off.  
  
Van was pressed back into his seat as the G's rose. The Fury settled back and shot across the desert. Raven's words showed up on the screen. Comfortable, Flyheight? He nodded, knowing Raven could feel it. Good.  
  
Fiona, Irvine, Moonbay and Thomas stood silently at the grave of their friend. The casket was lowered in, as the Blade Liger laid near it. His armor was gone, but they had made a duplicate body. Everyone cried as Gojulas's fired a hundred gun salute.  
  
The Blade Liger's head shot up as he roared. (A zoid! It's too powerful! Better than the Ultimate Deathsaurer!) Everyone's head snapped around as a cloud of dust rose on the horizon. A gray catlike zoid with folded wings skidded to a stop near the grave.  
  
A flat emotionless voice emanated from the gray zoid. "You will die." Irvine and Thomas leaped into the Siax and Dibison. Fiona looked around before clambering into the Blade Liger.  
  
The Berserk Fury shut the boosters and slid to a stop. "Raven, why don't we help them?" The Fury was silent, as it stood there. "Raven?" Raven's words flashed onscreen. We'll see how much damage they do to the Tiger.  
  
The Dibison bleeped as Thomas shouted commands to Beek. "Beek, Megalomax on my command! FIRE!" Golden beams of light rained down around the Storm Tiger, which dodged them before opening its wings. Two black blades flicked out as the Tiger flashed forward, slicing through both of the Dibison's right legs.  
  
The Siax accelerated and blurred as it curved in a turn, firing blue lasers furiously. The Tiger leaped into the air and glided overhead before flicking the wings closed and dropping. Right on top of the Lightning Siax. The Siax roared and crumpled, as electricity rippled over the black metal.  
  
Fiona gunned the boosters and streaked forward. The golden blades opened and slashed at the Storm Tiger. The gray zoid leaped to the side, bringing its wings under the Blade Liger and heaving, sending it tumbling onto its back.  
  
Van watched helplessly, cursing his broken legs. "Raven! Attack, please!" The boosters opened and warmed up as the Storm Tiger bent over, the unmistakable barrel protruding from its mouth.  
  
Fiona stared at the indigo glow and closed her eyes as the ball of energy launched. No pain? She opened her eyes to see a white zoid in front of her, grappling with the Storm Tiger, forcing it back slowly.  
  
One of the blade arrays on the zoids back started spinning like a drill as it seared through one wing. The Tiger roared and plunged downward, onto the white zoids back. A scream ripped the air as a gaping hole appeared through the zoids body.  
  
A bolt of blue lightning separated from the white zoid and came to earth. "SHADOW!?" Everyone gasped. Shadow's chest cavity opened up and a severely injured Dark One fell out.  
  
Van was frozen, as the hole sparked and fizzed. Raven. He must be failing. Since he's merged with the Fury, he too, will have a hole through his body. The Dark One rolled over and stared at the blue sky through clouding eyes.  
  
The Storm Tiger bent down as the pilot tumbled out. It was a girl, with long black hair, and amethyst eyes. She bent over the dying Raven. "Fenris...." he gasped. "Fenris.. I forgive you." The girl smiled through her tears. "Raven. I'm going to destroy the Storm Tiger. I've caused so much pain and suffering, what do I do now?"  
  
His hand grasped hers, as he whispered, "Just don't kill anymore. Don't destroy. Just. say you're sorry, and it will be okay." His head lolled back onto the sand as everyone fell out of their zoids. Van was frozen, sitting in the Fury, as Raven looked up at the skies.  
  
Fiona, Thomas, Moonbay, and Irvine gathered around the fading Dark One. Fiona looked down at him and whispered, "Thank you for saving my life." Raven smiled painfully and looked at Fenris. "Fen, just leave. You can't do anything here. Just.... bring Shadow over here."  
  
Shadow curled up by his master and watched as Fenris trudged away. Irvine looked at Raven and asked, "Why did you help us?" Raven replied slowly, "Van. He taught me that zoids aren't evil. I needed to repay his father." Thomas looked at him with grudging respect. "Thank you fro helping us." Raven's head turned to the Fury.  
  
Van lifted himself out of the Fury and tumbled down, hitting the earth with a "smack!". Everyone gaped at him as he painfully crawled to the Dark One. "Thank you for putting up with me for ten weeks, thank you.. for everything." Raven grimaced and whispered, "You're welcome. Listen.  
  
I want you to have Shadow and the Fury. I'm sorry for destroying all those bases and zoids, I'm sorry for fighting you and destroying the Shield Liger, I'm sorry... for everything."  
  
Van brushed his hair off his forehead and whispered, "Sleep. I'll see you again." Raven smiled before his eyes closed for the last time. Everyone had tears in their eyes, for the villain-turned-hero-turned-noble-sacrifice.  
  
The funeral was simple, only a few people attended. The Madame President, Emperor Rudolph, Colonel Karl Schubaltz, some soldiers, O' Connell, Captain Herman, Irvine, Thomas, Moonbay, Zeke and Shadow stood around the grave. Shadow wept, crying silver tears.  
  
Fiona wheeled Van up. Van was in a wheelchair for the funeral, because he had insisted on attending. They had chosen Van to give a speech commemorating the life of the Dark One. He cleared his throat and began speaking.  
  
"Raven was a villain for most of his short life. He hated zoids, with good reason. He hated me, because I was the only one that could repeatedly defeat him. He lived that way for five years, and turned around in one minute, all because of the death of his best and only friend. He put up with me for more than two months, my whining, my need to be carried everywhere because of my broken legs. He saved my life. Raven gave up in his life to save ours, in a painful death. But at least, he died knowing someone cared. Raven was a hero of the best kind, the unsung hero of Zi."  
  
Far above, in the stars, Raven smiled. 


End file.
